A long-awaited and highly anticipated moment in St. John’s basketball history is about to become reality.

At a news conference next week prior to the Hofstra game, St. John’s will announce plans to renovate Alumni Hall and build a state-of-the-art practice court, locker room and office-space facility, several sources told The Post.

With the Big East poised to become a super conference in basketball with the additions of Cincinnati, Louisville, Marquette and DePaul, the announcement couldn’t come at a better time for the Johnnies.

Sources said the new practice facility should be ready for use by the start of the 2005 season.

St. John’s Athletic Director David Wegrzyn was at an NIT function last night and not immediately available to comment. But in recent interviews with The Post, he stated the university’s goal is to compete at the highest levels. This is a major step toward that goal.

The renovation of Alumni Hall and the new facility will allow the men’s and women’s teams to have their own practice courts, plush locker rooms, a new weight-training center and offices for coaches and support staff. Two sources said that either the court at Alumni Hall or the facility would be named in honor of legendary St. John’s coach Lou Carnesecca.

The multi-million dollar project will be funded by private donations. Sources said that St. John’s President, the Rev. Donald Harrington, and Wegrzyn have been traveling the country the last two years with the specific goal of raising funds for the project.

It is considered to be the most ambitious undertaking by a university that does not play Division I-A football since Connecticut built Gampel Pavilion in 1990.

Thoughts of upgrading the Red Storm’s facilities have been an issue for some 10 years. The cover of the 1998-99 men’s basketball media guide shows pictures of Red Storm players on construction equipment. The inside cover is a picture of coach Mike Jarvis holding blueprints.

Jarvis, who’s in the sixth year of a seven-year deal that has not been extended, has been critical of the Red Storm’s facilities in the past. Whoever the coach of the Red Storm is in the future, he will have the facilities and fertile recruiting grounds of the city to attract top talent.